Donald Trump was booed for his attacks on Hillary Clinton at the annual Al Smith dinner in New York on Thursday night, an event where the presidential candidates traditionally poke fun at their rival and themselves.

With the Republican nominee sitting two seats away from his Democratic rival barely 24 hours after a bitter presidential debate, the white-tie charity gala proved to be a highly awkward encounter. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, sat in between them, called his seat "the iciest place on the planet".

Kicking off on a light note, Mr Trump earned hearty laughter for some of his early barbs.

"Just before taking the dais, Hillary accidentally bumped into me, and she very civilly said, 'pardon me'," joked Mr Trump, who has frequently said Mrs Clinton should be in jail for her email practices as secretary of state. "And I very politely replied, let me talk to you about that after I get into office."

However, the Republican appeared to lose the room as he repeatedly dug in with caustic swipes at Mrs Clinton, drawing rare boos at a charity event meant to raise money for impoverished children throughout New York.

"Hillary is so corrupt she got kicked off the Watergate Commission. How corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the Watergate Commission? Pretty corrupt," he said to loud jeers and at least one call demanding he get off the stage.

He then rattled off his standard attack lines, setting aside humour as he talked about the material contained in hacked Clinton campaign emails.

"Hillary believes that it's vital to deceive the people by having one public policy and a totally different policy in private," he said to growing jeers. "Here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics."

Boos erupt at charity dinner as Trump jokes about hacked Clinton emails released by WikiLeaks https://t.co/UbLat9qwoj

Mrs Clinton was more self-deprecating than Mr Trump, joking that she's taken a break from her "usual nap schedule" to attend and suggesting the audience should be pleased she's not charging her usual fee for speaking in front of potential donors.

But she, too, veered into personal digs, referencing the string of accusations of sexism that have been levelled at Mr Trump.

"Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a '4,'" Mrs Clinton joked. "Maybe a '5' if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair."

Watch | Clinton pokes fun at Trump during gala dinner

01:47

Said also said she understood why her rival didn't like teleprompters. "I'm sure it's even harder when you're translating from the original Russian," she added, alluding to Mr Trump's past comments on Russia.

The dinner capped another bitter day of campaigning for the two presidential candidates. Here is a full round up of how the rest of the day unfolded as we now enter the home stretch before Election Day.

Top headlines

Yoga instructor accuses Trump of touching her inappropriately

Karena Virginia said she felt "intimidated" when the billionaire touched her breast at the event in 1988 at Flushing Meadows Park, New York.

She claimed she was waiting for a car and Mr Trump approached, telling some other men "Hey look at this one, we haven't seen this one before," and "Look at those legs".

Watch | A tenth woman accuses Donald Trump of sexual harrasment

03:12

Ms Virginia said he told her "Do you know who I am?"

She said: "He then walked up to me and reached his right arm and grabbed my right arm. Then, his hand touched the right inside of my breast. I was in shock. I flinched.

Ms Virginia, a life coach and yoga instructor who was 27 at the time, was the latest in a string of women to come forward alleging inappropriate sexual behaviour by Mr Trump over a period of decades.

British TV presenter Selina Scott may have her own "bombshell" revelations

British television presenter Selina Scott might release her own "bombshell" account of Mr Trump's sexual advances behind the scenes of a television programme she made about him in 1995, according to reports.

"Even by the extraordinary standards of Donald Trump, it was a creepy chat-up line," she wrote in The Mail on Sunday earlier this year.

"We were at 30,000ft on Trump’s private jet flying to Florida, when he showed me his white leather double bed. ‘I like beautiful things,’ he purred seductively. ‘That’s why I like you so much.’"

Mr Trump was reportedly unhappy with his portrayal on the programme, labelling Ms Scott "no longer hot" after it aired, and allegedly sending her a string of abusive letters in the years since.

Trump's national political director 'steps back' from campaign

The move comes a day after a final presidential debate which many Republicans saw as Mr Trump blowing his final chance at electoral victory.

Jim Murphy, who joined the team in June, told Politico that he was leaving the campaign for personal reasons.

Mr Murphy was described by Politico as a longtime party operative, who played a key role in setting up field programmes in battleground states.

Donald Trump will honour election result - if he wins

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Thursday he would accept the result of the November 8 election - "if I win" - fuelling Republican concerns his stance would make it harder for his party to maintain control of Congress.

Mrs Clinton called the comment "horrifying" while US President Barack Obama also condemned the remarks.

Refusing to back down, Mr Trump said at a rally on Thursday: "I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and to all of the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election - if I win."

Picture of the day

Donald Trump looks across at Hillary Clinton at the Al Smith dinner in Manhattan Credit:
AP

Analysis: Donald Trump is readying his troops for guerrilla war

Tim Stanley writes:

"I will keep you in suspense,” said Donald Trump at the Las Vegas debate, like an illusionist before a great reveal. He’s a showman, this is what he does. But his refusal to say whether or not he’ll accept the legitimacy of the election result on November 8 alarmed rather than delighted the audience. It suggests that his campaign will continue even if he loses. That President Hillary Clinton won’t be allowed to get on with her job. How extraordinary is this threat? Not as much as Left-wing pundits say. Election results have been contested before. Some Republicans accused John F Kennedy of stealing the election in 1960; the 2000 Florida recount tested the limits of American democracy. Harbouring doubts about such an enormous, flawed process is rational.